Scriptural Basis for Covered LE

The Covered Law Enforcement logo represents the “thin blue line” of law enforcement meeting the thin red line of Christ’s blood, which was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. While there are many facets of being “covered,” ultimately it is about the blood of Jesus.

The sacrificial system of the Old Testament can – by some accounts – be traced back to the Garden of Eden where, after the sin of Adam and Eve, God sacrificed animals to provide the skins as covering for their nakedness (Genesis 3). In Genesis 4, God accepted Abel’s animal sacrifice while rejecting Cain’s offering of produce. Then, in Genesis 9, God gives explicit instructions to Noah concerning sacrifices. There He commands that the blood should be drained from all sacrificial offerings and not consumed, because “the life is in the blood.” This command is kept throughout the generations, and was a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ, whose blood provides abundant and eternal life.

In Matthew 26:28, Jesus implements the Lord’s Supper (Eucharist, Holy Communion) – the partaking of His blood – which is the new covenant or testament and was shed for us for the remission of sins. Paul goes on to say in Romans 4:7 (quoting Psalm 32), “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered” with the inference on being covered by the blood.

Why is there the necessity of blood? Hebrews 9:22 says that according to the law – given by God to Moses on Mt Sinai – all things are purged with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no remission (no laying aside, no release from guilt, no relief from…sin). Hebrews 10 explains, however, that animal sacrifices were implemented as a foreshadowing of things to come, and that it is not possible for the blood of bulls or goats or any other animal to take away sins. God prepared unto Himself a body, a blameless sacrifice, that would be sacrificed once for all people. Jesus Christ came into this world, lived a sinless life, and shed His blood on the cross of Calvary as the fulfillment of God’s plan to restore humanity back to Himself.

Because salvation is about being restored to right relationship with God as designed before the Fall of Adam, the shedding of Christ’s blood in the atonement (the reconciliation) makes possible the restoration of all things lost at the Fall. The prophet Isaiah explains in Isaiah 53, especially verse 5:

He (Jesus) has borne (lifted and carried upon Himself) our griefs (sicknesses, diseases, maladies, anxiety, calamity) and carried our sorrows (anguish, pain, afflictions, grief, sorrow). He was wounded (stricken, smitten, afflicted) for (because of) our transgressions (rebellion, sin) and bruised (broken into pieces, crumbled) for our iniquities (perversities, fault, sin). The chastisement (the punishment required to restore) of our peace (shalom, welfare, health) was upon Him, and with His stripes (bruises, wounds, specifically the marks received from being whipped) we are healed (mended, cured, made whole).

Consider Paul’s explanation of sin, separation, reconciliation, and privilege we have through the blood of Christ:

[19] For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, [20] and by him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross. [21] This includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, [22] yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. – Col 1:19-22 NLT

Through the blood, we are brought into the very presence of God…another very important aspect of being covered. In and through God’s presence there is protection from danger and harm. The Covered logo serves as a constant reminder of this protection as those in law enforcement enter the “trenches” of life every day. Psalm 91 is perhaps the most familiar passage about the protection received from abiding in God’s presence. Here, the Psalmist declares that the Lord is a refuge and place of safety (verse 2), He protects from evil traps and plagues (verse 3), He alleviates our fears (verses 5-6), He orders angels to protect us (verse 11), and He answers when we call upon Him (verse 15).

No wonder Paul is quoted in Acts 17:28 as saying, “In Him we live, move, and have our being.” We need His presence, we need His provision, we need His protection, we need His power, and we need His peace. We need every aspect of our lives to be covered by the immeasurable riches of the blood of Jesus Christ.

Only one question remains…ARE YOU COVERED?

*This resource provides a scriptural basis for Covered Law Enforcement as a ministry, and was developed in its present form out of a conversation between founder Jonathan Parker and Mike “MC” Williams, founder of The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry.